James Webb telescope reveals complex S-shaped structure in galaxy Centaurus A

The James Webb Space Telescope used its NIRCam and MIRI infrared instruments to look through the dense dust that obscured the core of Centaurus A (NGC 5128), an active radio galaxy about 11 million light‑years from Earth. The new images show millions of individual stars, hot dust filaments and a twisted S‑shaped distribution of gas and dust in the galaxy’s centre.

Astronomers note that the S‑structure is real, not an imaging artefact, but its origin is still uncertain. Possible explanations include remnants of a galaxy merger that occurred roughly 2 billion years ago, deformation of the galaxy’s disc, or the influence of powerful jets and outflows from the central super‑massive black hole. The observations also reveal fast‑moving ionised gas, a warm molecular hydrogen disk, and regions where new stars are forming, offering fresh clues about how the black hole interacts with its surroundings.